At Home Spring 2011

at h o m e

at athome SPRING 2011

Christopher Designs Crisscut

© 2011 NACE Marketing, New York, All Rights Reserved.

SPRING 2011

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a COMMUNItY JOURNaLS PUBLICatION

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Old World Craftsmanship. New World Design.

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or over twenty-seven years The Carver Group has built an outstanding reputation for being one of the best custom home builders in upstate South Carolina, including Greenville, the Cliffs Communities, Lake Keowee, Lake Toxaway, and surrounding areas in western North Carolina. Only a limited number of homes are built at one time to insure the high degree of quality that The Carver Group demands.

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Combining old-world craftsmanship with 21st century management produces unrivaled quality while maintaining budgets and schedules. Experience, attention to detail, a loyal and proven sub base, computerized estimating, project management and scheduling are just a few of the attributes that makes this builder unique.

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FEATURE HOMES

athome SPRING 2011

14 Sentimental Journey Condo filled with pieces that express a story

34 A Tale of Two Brownstones

It was the best of homes‌

110 Home Run

Practical considerations, style preferences drive condo design

DEPARTMENTS 10 Notes from Home 28 My Favorite Objet d’Art

51 Simply Unique Lost and Found

60 Ideas in Bloom Spring Awakens

67 Labor of Love Homecoming

85 Trends

Tablescapes for any occasion

99 Garden to Table Piece of Paradise

127 Wine & Dining The Art of Liqueur

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Contents page and page 67: Idyllic setting for a laid-back wedding.

Photo by Kim Gibson on the Cover and page 36: The Steinmann home is alive with light and color. Photo by TJ Getz

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athome in tHe UPstAte

148 RiveR st., ste 120, GReenville, sC 29601 vOl. 9 | nO. 1 | 2011 EdITOR-IN-ChIEf lynn Greenlaw aRT dIRECTOR Kristy M. Adair COPy EdITOR Diane Jackson PUBlIShER Mark B. Johnston dIRECTOR Of OPERaTIONS Alan P. Martin PROdUCTION MaNaGER Holly Hardin advERTISING dIRECTOR sandra l. Peirce aCCOUNT ExECS MaryBeth Culbertson Katherine elrod Kristi Jennings Donna Johnston nancy long Pam Putman sherri Rogers lenette sprouse ClIENT SERvICES Anita Harley Jane Rogers advERTISING dESIGNERS Michael Allen Joel newcomer Kelly stuart dISTRIBUTION David Robinson SPECIal ThaNKS the Wards, the steinmanns, the Williamses, the Browns, Barry and Bill, Amy Broker, Casey and Patrick Reid, our terrific photographers and writers and the entire Journal family. advERTISING 864.679.1200 dISTRIBUTION 864.679.1240 At Home in the Upstate is a publication of Community Journals llC (publisher of the Greenville and Spartanburg Journals). Information in this publication is carefully compiled to ensure accuracy.

No recommendation regarding the quality of goods and services is expressed or implied. Contents of this magazine are copyrighted © by Community Journals in their entirety. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior consent of the publisher.

SUBSCRIPTIONS: At Home in the Upstate publishes three times a year (Spring, Summer, and Fall/Winter).

The cost of a subscription is $20. If you would like to receive our magazine, please contact us at 864-679-1200.

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Notes from Home Spring 2011 Sit quietly, doing nothing, spring comes, and the grass grows by itself.

– Z en

saying

MAY WE ALL HAVE THE TIME to sit quietly and watch the grass grow this spring. our homeowners who are featured in this issue won’t have any problem finding large quantities of grass to watch. All they have to do is walk out their front doors and head to the nearest downtown park. in one case that “park” has a very different connotation. However, all of them have certainly been discovering the joys of a downtown lifestyle. We’re grateful to them for sharing their experiences and their homes with us.

Speaking of toWN, we’d like to welcome our newest member of the Journal family of publications. toWN is a monthly magazine unlike any the Upstate has seen. Check it out at www.toWNgreenville.com. there’s a new feature in this issue, too. Garden to table with Janette Wesley will keep us informed on various topics starting with planning a kitchen garden and what to do with its bounty. in Wine & dining, renato Vicario provides us with a history lesson of liqueurs and tempts you to try making one yourself. the Gallagher/reid wedding will show us that it is possible to have an elegant, fun, heart-tugging wedding without starting your marriage with a financial deficit. there’s so much more awaiting you, so let’s spring to it. Enjoy!

Please contact me with any comments or suggestions. I love hearing from you. 864.679.1239 or Lgreenlaw@communityjournals.com

Lynn Greenlaw, Editor-iN-CHiEF

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Sentimental

Journey Condo filled with pieces that express a story

writ ten By LeiGH SAVAGe ◆ pHotoS By t. J. Ge t z

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If a home offers a glImpse into priorities and passions, it’s clear upon stepping into Bill and Karen Ward’s greenville condo that they treasure travel, culture and adventure, as well as the friends they’ve met along the way.

In the 45 years since they married, Bill Ward has traveled to more than 40 countries for his work as an economist, and Karen has accompanied him on many excursions, including stints in the philippines, Iran, Iraq, Jordan and lebanon.

They’ve picked up numerous treasures that once decorated their spacious home in anderson, where they lived while Bill worked as a professor at Clemson University. In 2003, when he realized he’d be increasing his travel again, the couple decided to move to downtown greenville for reduced upkeep and increased cultural opportunities. The only problem—how do you re-create the look and feel of a 5,000-square-foot home in a 3,300-square-foot space?

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The Wards tapped longtime friend and interior designer Bill Ducworth, who had worked on their Anderson home, to help them place their favorite things. Buying before construction was complete allowed the Wards to purchase a unit and a half, opening up more space. Ducworth was able to sketch out wall placement, creating spots specifically for some of their furnishings and accessories. He also reworked a few favorite pieces, including cutting a vitrine in half and turning a screen into decorative panels.

“We didn’t buy anything for this space except for two light fixtures,” Karen says, and what they couldn’t use, they put in storage. After six years as downtown denizens, the couple, who have a son in law school at the University of Tulsa, are relishing their new lifestyle and say they don’t miss anything about their larger home and yard—only the friends who lived nearby.

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The lack of yard work was an immediate plus. “When we first moved in, every Saturday my husband and my son would say, ‘Thank goodness we moved!’” Karen says. Instead, the couple enjoys walking downtown every day, often more than once.

They’re regulars at several restaurants, including Pomegranate and Trio, and attend many concerts. They also enjoy walking through Springfield Cemetery, which is right in their backyard.

“It’s like a sculpture garden,” Karen says. “It’s a lovely place to walk, full of Greenville’s history.” 

The Ward’s condo overlooks Springwood Cemetery, which they liken to a sculpture garden filled with Greenville’s history.

OPPOSITE, INSET: After 45 years of marriage, Bill and Karen Ward have fond memories of their travel adventures, and look forward to creating many more.

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The light fixtures, featuring a Chinese dragon motif, were the only new item purchased for the home. The French armoire near the dining table was a gift from a dear friend.

RIGHT: The main

living area is filled with prized possessions picked up at far-flung locations. BELOW: The bold entryway greets guests with a vivid rug from a coffeehouse in Iran and a prized Zuber scenic mural, cut and framed to fit the space.

In the condo’s entryway, guests are greeted with a massive Zuber scenic mural that hints at the multicultural treasure trove waiting inside. The wall—sketched in by Ducworth to ensure a good fit—is dominated by the antique French mural, which is made with woodblocks using an exacting process. Typically found in larger rooms, the piece was originally 12x18 feet. Ducworth had several feet of sky trimmed off and framed the piece to make it more mobile.

Underfoot is a vivid area rug purchased right off the floor of a coffee house in Ghazvin, Iran. “Our friend knew the owner, and knew it was difficult to get those colors in an Iranian rug,” says Karen, who can still picture the men in the coffee shop smoking their hookah pipes.

The kitchen was enlarged thanks to the extra half-unit they purchased, but features the stock moldings and cabinetry. Art by a favorite Philippine artist decorates the space, and mirrors reflect 16 | at home

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The hall piece is covered with hats that Karen views as décor, though she laughingly admits Bill wears many of them in public. BOTTOM: The young Buddha statue, picked up at an antiques shop, sits in front of an intricate piece of Chinese brushwork, a gift from a friend and expert in energy economics.

light from the curtained opening Ducworth added. The top part of the former vitrine is now used as a cabinet, while its lower portion serves as a console in the adjacent dining area.

Corian countertops were added at the insistence of Karen, who completed a full college sequence in microbiology and has been germ-conscious ever since.

“Corian is the cleanest surface there is,” she says. And that’s just one of her areas of expertise—while Bill worked as a professor and with the World Bank, Karen completed extensive coursework in Latin, psychology, accounting and chemistry to expand her horizons and set a good example for their son.

The dining room is home to an 18th-century French armoire, one of many items the Wards have received as gifts. Bill hired a man to help set up development banks in Iran, and then to set up programs in French-speaking West Africa.

The man owned boutiques in Chamonix, France, and often talked décor and aesthetics with Karen. One day, out of the blue, the armoire arrived, folded flat like an ironing board. A box of pegs and instructions in French posed a challenge, but once put together it became a favorite piece.

 spring 2011 | 17

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The golden sofa is flanked by Korean chests that once held medicinal herbs in a pharmacy. The parquet floor was designed by interior designer Bill Ducworth to add interest to the space while eliminating the need for carpets, since Karen and her son have severe allergies.

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BELOW: The lions overlooking the living area, purchased at an antiques shop, fit perfectly with their dĂŠcor, which blends Oriental and Middle Eastern influences.

LEFT: Ducworth, who has known the Wards for years, made sure their space included live plants and plenty of light thanks to openings, transoms and mirrors. above: The library offers an eclectic mix of personal items, including another Zuber mural called Hindustan, carved twisted columns to add a Moorish look, custom-designed bookcases, Japanese tables and a bust of Caesar wearing a Mao hat.

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The living area is home to two lion sculptures and a young Buddha purchased at an antiques shop. The painting in the space was another gift, this time from a Philippine friend who worked in investment analysis at the World Bank and also did Chinese brush work—both jobs requiring meticulous attention to detail, Bill says.

A golden sofa, which came with the Anderson house, is flanked by Korean chests with tiny drawers originally designed to hold medicinal herbs. They are topped by vases from an Iranian mosque, which were made into lamps. The light

fixtures above—the one purchase made for the condo—feature Chinese dragons.

A second Zuber mural provides an exotic backdrop in the library, which also boasts twisted carved columns to add to the Moorish look. The custom-designed bookcases feature arches that echo the Zuber piece. Karen’s piano, built in 1926 and left to her in a friend’s will, is topped with special pictures, including Karen’s parents; the Wards’ son, Jordan; and a snapshot of Karen that her father carried with him while he  was a marine aviator in World War II. spring 2011 | 21

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The stock cabinetry in the kitchen blended nicely with the cabinet Ducworth made by cutting a vitrine in half. Above the door are paintings picked up in the Philippines.

OPPOSITE: Since they bought a unit and a half, the Wards have an extra half-patio, where they enjoy the relaxing view.

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Tiny Japanese tables, rubbings made in the Museum of Ancient History in Korea, and panels of Italian Fortuny wallpaper—formerly part of a screen in the Anderson house—blend together in an appealing multi-ethnic mix.

The Wards say their extensive travels have expanded their appreciation for many cultures and styles, including Oriental and Middle Eastern, and they enjoy displaying their diverse finds. “We’ve had a lot of adventures,” Bill says.

“And we’ve collected for many years,” Karen adds.

Ducworth, who has known the family for more than 20 years, says the beauty of the Wards’ home is that it is personal, filled with pieces that express a story—who the Wards are, where they have been, and what they value. “It’s not decorated,” he says. “It’s just placed. This is what a house should be. It’s a journey.” _

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Specializing in treating children, adolescents, and adults with severe psychiatric disorders in a caring and nurturing environment

My Favorite Objet d’Art

writ ten By SAnDy HAnK inS pHoto By pAtriCK CoX

“To every Thing There is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. a time to be born, and a time to die. a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted. a time to kill, and a time to heal. a time to break down, and a time to build up. a time to weep, and a time to laugh. a time to mourn, and a time to dance. a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together. a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing. a time to get, and a time to lose. a time to keep, and a time to cast away. a time to rend, and a time to sew. a time to keep silence, and a time to speak. a time to love, and a time to hate. a time of war, and a time of peace.”

These are the wise words of solomon from the Book of the Bible— ecclesiastes. My favorite object—an old grandfather Clock—faithfully reminds me and my family of the passing of time and how precious time is.

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The clock has a fascinating history that began with my husband steve’s great grandfather, Dr. roy Brown. affectionately called Dar, he was the town doctor of Washington Court house, ohio. he had the clock built by well-known clockmaker alva Pees in 1926 as a gift for his wife, Mary Baker Brown. The clock sat in the large hallway of their victorian home. harford hankins, my husband’s dad, told me when he was a small boy that clock was the first thing you would see as you came down the staircase. after the death of Dr. and Mrs. Brown, the clock was moved to their one and only daughter’s home, Dorothy Brown hankins, better known to all of us as Mimi. There it stayed until it was handed down to my home. it has now taken a prominent place as it stands tall and straight. The original finish is all crackled and worn and the finely tooled facing looks happy. To think it has come this far and is still loved as much now as when it was first created. The real significance is not found just in its outward appearance but in the memories that it invokes.

This clock stood in Mimi’s house more than 50 years and its gentle chiming was part of the special calm and serenity of her home. it was a magical place with stain-glass windows, a grand staircase and a small winding back staircase.

This was a home where the music of this grandfather clock and laughter filled the air. it was a home where Mimi made each of her grandchildren, individually, seem like the most important person in the world.

This is what i want for my home. This beautiful old grandfather clock represents, by its dongs and dings and ticks, the perspective of family memories and family heritage and how important that we embrace it. it speaks of a loving grandmother whose love and generosity was timeless, unending—i want to be just like that! 

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m y favo r ite‌ spring 2011 | 29

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Joan

ten minutes north of downtown Greenville mountain living

in a work of art

Rookwood, On Paris Mountain Available for Purchase | $3.4 Million

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A Tale of Two Brownstones:

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It was the best of homes…

Editor’s Note: Since Charles Dickens would surely turn over in his grave if we continue, we’ll end the comparison to his literary masterpiece here!

He’d certainly have found it interesting, however, to hear the story of the two families you are about to meet.

These couples gave up their suburban dwellings to build new domiciles in the downtown metropolis that is Greenville.

They embraced the concept of building up, not out—common practice in large cities like London and New York—and of adapting their new homes to fit the exact specifications of their own lifestyles and interior design preferences.

We hope you find it intriguing and maybe a bit inspiring to see what they have accomplished.

CONTINUED � 36 �

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writ ten By ALLiSOn wAL SH pHOtOS By t. J. Ge t z

Clean Slate

SHARON STEINMANN THOUGHT she was too old to have what she wanted. After spending a few minutes with her, it’s hard to imagine her as old, much less as someone who doesn’t get what she wants.

Her husband Adrian knew this well enough to know that when she came striding into their Augusta Road area home with blueprints under her arm, he should avoid engaging her in any way.

“I walked in the door, and I was just salivating I was so excited, and he looks at me and says ‘I don’t want to see it. I don’t care what it is,’” Sharon remembers. “I had to kind of sweet talk him, and an hour later we met with the architect.”

That architect was Charles Lachanos, whom Sharon had approached during an out-of-the-ordinary visit to The Cook’s Station on South Main Street in Greenville’s West End. “I see a man with these big blueprints talking to another man,” she says. “I went up and said, ‘What are you selling? It might be something I want to buy.’ Just to be silly.”

Silly or not, two hours later Sharon and Adrian were standing on the site of their future home offering their new architect ��

the wardrobe that separates the dining room from the sitting area languished unnoticed for years in the Steinmann’s suburban foyer. today it serves as linen storage and conversation piece, but knows how to step quietly aside when a dinner party needs its space.

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The trio of upholstered occasional chairs inherited from Adrian’s grandparents sit comfortably amid the decidedly modern design of the Steinmann’s main living area. Sharon and Adrian eliminated the walls from their home’s original design, opting instead to divide the living and dining areas with thoughtfully arranged furnishings.

A mutual love of the color red made settling on a color scheme a snap for the Steinmanns.

The two admit to a history of acquiring things they don’t need – and in some cases don’t particularly like – simply because they are powerless to resist red’s charms.

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ABOVE: The

original plan for the second floor called for a master and two bedrooms.

The Steinmanns opted for a light-filled library that – thanks to a Murphy bed – pulls double duty as a guest room. RIGHT: The gleaming white master bath is an example in miniature of the painstaking attention to detail that went into selecting surfaces and fixtures throughout the home.

architect and developer a sizable deposit to cement their position as the first owners of one of the six 3,000-square-foot brownstones he was planning for the lot adjacent to Greenville’s historic Second Presbyterian Church.

The Steinmanns had lived for 30 years in the oak canopied enclave of Marshall Forest, but Sharon was a native of St. Louis who started her family in the North Shore area of Chicago before moving to Greenville, and had long wanted to return to her urban roots.

Adrian, a native of Switzerland, wasn’t a fan of raking, so convincing him to leave the leafy ‘burbs behind wasn’t all that hard.

“Being in a neighborhood, when you look out the window you see a car drive by or a neighbor coming home, but that’s all,” Adrian says. “Now here every hour on the half hour buses come by, and of course a lot of fire trucks and ambulances. But there’s more life; you’re more connected.”

Along with the new view outside, the Steinmanns wanted a new feel for the interior. Over the years, as walls needed painting and faucets needed replacing, the couple had infused their traditional home with modern touches. The prospect of a clean, customizable slate to max out their minimalist tendencies was too appealing to pass up.

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“We loved our house in Marshall Forest, but if we could have what we wanted we’d have a Frank Lloyd Wright house with all glass. It would be really modern,” Sharon explains. “So we said this is an opportunity for us to do that.”

and I said, ‘What are we going to do?’” Sharon remembers. “He got up in the morning—we were staying with them at their place—and he said, ‘Where are those plans? Bring them to me.’ And he came up with the idea to put the powder room on the stairs.”

Rather than the original plan for the main level, which called for a traditional living room, dining room and keeping room surrounding a central kitchen, the Steinmanns opted for one big room with a dining area on one end, living area in the middle, and the kitchen relegated to the back wall. After laying out the space on their driveway and playing house they also decided to relocate the elevator from the middle of the home to just inside the front door.

This change necessitated a narrower kitchen, and a double oven was sacrificed in the process, but Sharon and Adrian considered that a small price to pay for what has turned out to be one of their favorite details.

Another big decision was where to put the powder room. Sharon wasn’t comfortable with it near the dining area, but the only other option was off the kitchen, which seemed equally unappealing.

Adrian is from Switzerland, much of the home’s ingenuity originated in Germany, and the grand plan for the placement of the powder room came from Austria.

“We showed the plans to our friends from Vienna who were living in Greenville for a short while …

“It was brilliant, really,” she says.

Sharon says she and her husband are not the type who would ever have purchased a lot and built from the ground up, so they appreciated the carte blanche that came with being the first to call The Brownstones home.

“It was really great because we were the first ones and for a month we saw (the architect) literally every day,” Sharon says. “The charm of these is that he allowed us to make them ours.”

Sharon is a woman who knows what she wants.

Adrian is an engineer. And they were told they could make every decision, from the layout to the drawer �� pulls.

It’s hard to look away from the light in the master bedroom, but Sharon put a lot of thought into making her closet a thing of beauty in its own right, with real furniture and repurposed retail fixtures for organized storage.

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BELOW The uppermost floor of the home is one room surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows

that let in the envy-inducing view from the wraparound porch. BOTTOM: On a clear day you can see Paris Mountain, and on Friday nights during baseball season the Steinmanns and their neighbors get their own private fireworks show courtesy of the Greenville Drive.

“Everything you see is a choice we had to make. It was hard,” Sharon remembers of the process of choosing every surface, color and lighting fixture without the aid of a professional designer. “We just think we can do everything. It’s probably not true, but we do it anyway.”

The payoff for the painstaking decision-making and insistence on getting every detail just right has come. Sharon and Adrian are head over heels in love with their new home and the lifestyle that’s come with it.

“I absolutely come down those steps every day and stop and think, ‘I love this place,’” Sharon says. “We’re happy. We’re never leaving. We figure if we die here, they can just bring us down on the elevator. That’s our plan.” •

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Creating Brilliance In Every Room

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From the front door of the williams home one gets a glimpse of the downtown scenery that waits through the windows of the keeping room. Lynn chose to preserve the home’s original floor plan, which called for clearly delineated dining, kitchen, and living areas.

A House

writ ten By ALLiSOn wAL SH pHOtOS By t. J. Ge t z

Redefined

Lynn WiLLiams has a husband, five kids, three dogs and

three houses in two states. she also has a lot of big binders stuffed with lists and plans and ideas.

That husband, also known as Tim, is retiring from blackbaud this summer; four of the five kids have been lovingly shoved from the nest (for the most part); and one of those houses is a meticulously planned (thanks to the binders) brownstone in Greenville’s West End where Lynn and Tim are looking forward to spending their retirement.

“Everybody says it’s usually the other way around—you usually go to Charleston,” Lynn says of the couple’s decision to evacuate the coast instead of spending their golden years with toes in the sand. but the siren call of the couple’s mountain house in Cashiers, nC, was too strong for her city boy husband to resist. in fact, Tim could easily live the high and quiet life full time, but Lynn needs a little hustle and bustle with her relaxation. �� 42 | at home

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The unique bar in the keeping room once served as the counter of Lynn’s greatgrandfather’s store.

The heavy heart pine treasure was cut to fit the space and now provides a handsome hangout while entertaining.

Downsizing a lifetime of acquisitions – not to mention a family of seven – into a downtown dwelling means getting creative with storage. The butler’s pantry and sky-high cabinetry help accomplish this.

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“I absolutely love the mountain house, and we designed that one, too, but I’m not living up there. It’s too far out,” Lynn says with a laugh. “I grew up in the country and I know what that’s all about. Tim grew up in Sioux City, Iowa, and he’s longing to have that calm, set-aside (feeling).”

So the couple compromised by shortening the drive to the mountains and seeking their next home in the Upstate.

The next consideration was a high school for their youngest son, 16-year-old Peter—one that could cater to his interest in mathematics and his love for soccer.

“Greenville High School fit that bill perfectly,” Lynn says.

The only thing left to find was an address, so the Williamses began researching the city center’s residential offerings.

They considered condos in Cleveland Park, but the walk to Main Street was a bit far. They looked at lofts in the heart of downtown, but the price was a bit high. In the end, it was a Tyvek-clad shell that felt just right.

ABOVE & RIGHT: The Williams family has a habit of maintaining more than one residence, which means lots of furniture in storage at any given time.

Lynn drew on this reserve, as well as her innate knack for organization to furnish her family’s Upstate home.

Shown above and to the left are the master bedroom and bath. opposite, TOP: Sixteen-year-old Peter is the last of the Williams children living at home full-time. His bedroom bears the mark of an impressively traveled high school athlete.

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“I really did have my heart set on having an apartment above a building—a store or something like that,” Lynn says. “In hindsight I’m glad we didn’t (find that), because I love this.”

The Brownstones have given the Williams family everything they wanted—an easy walk to downtown for dinner and drinks, panoramic views of the city and its mountains, and the opportunity to customize their home from the ground up and imbue it with the warmth to which they were accustomed.

“It was an easier transition from a house to this for us,” Lynn says. “Neither of us had ever lived in a condo or anything like that, so coming from houses … This truly feels like a home in all respects.”

“This had a lot of appeal because we could walk in the front door,” Tim agrees, explaining that, after seeing what The Brownstones had to offer, riding an

elevator up to an internal corridor didn’t feel like home to him.

Lynn has had a bit of practice designing new homes and playing musical chairs with furnishings moving from storage to one home or another and back again. Her penchant for organization also yielded a detailed inventory of what was where and a knack for mentally moving into a home in advance of the truck.

This is a skill that came in handy when moving all the stuff that comes with a large family into a smaller space.

“This house is all about being organized and downsizing and what do you have to have,” Lynn says. “Which is why we wanted all of our cabinets going all the way up to the ceilings. You have to have a ladder to get up there, but that’s where I store seasonal things.”

On the main level Lynn preserved the original floor plan, with distinct but open spaces: the formal dining room just off

the foyer connects by a butler’s pantry to the kitchen, which opens into the keeping room beyond.

The first inhabitants of the development chose to use the garage level for storage and office space, but the Williamses saw an opportunity to add more living space—and to tap into their oldest son’s audio-video aptitude—and created a man cave that converts to guest quarters with the addition of an air mattress or two.

“From (looking at) the first one everybody said, ‘Oh, we could use this as this,’ and everybody sort of builds on each other,” Lynn says.

The Williamses also modified the plan for the top floor. While their neighbors have porches that extend the length of two sides of their homes, they realized that as the center building—with a wall on two sides—they could expand the dimensions �� of their uppermost room and still spring 2011 | 45

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have outdoor living space on each end.

Here Lynn and Tim each have a desk—his faces West End Field with a front row seat for Friday night fireworks, and hers looks out on cozy chairs surrounding a working gas fireplace.

It’s hard to imagine a better perch for cocktails before—and after—ambling up the street for dinner. These are people you want to make friends with. •

TOP: Vertical living does have its complications. The Williamses had to hire a crane to lift their sofa to the uppermost level of their home, but with windows on either side, it’s hard to argue with the view from that costly couch. ABOVE: A working gas fireplace on the porch means year-round enjoyment of the great outdoors.

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SIMPLY U NIQU E

Lost and Found

Attic treasures embellish home’s history S TORY AND PHOTOS BY ALISON S TORM

THANKS TO SHOWS LIKE

coming out of attics.”

“American Pickers,” “Pawn Stars” and “Antiques Roadshow,” more people than ever are scouring their attics for hidden treasures, dusty relics or rusty gold.

Patsy’s full of picking fairy tales—stories of stale books hiding hundred dollar bills, cluttered closets containing cracked Edgefield pottery worth thousands, or a Yankee team ball rescued from a trash bin. But she’s the first to admit, just because it’s old doesn’t mean it’s valuable.

Patsy Robertson and her team at Greerbased WHAM Auctions have found plenty of forgotten riches stashed in properties across the Upstate. “You never know what you’re going to find when you go into a home,” she says.

“We find an awful lot of treasures

“Everyone thinks they have a real treasure,” she says. “Some of them aren’t.”

Patsy says the best thing to do is get the help of a professional appraiser, which is how I ended up in her office.

I was hoping my attic discovery fell more on the side of treasure than trash.

My husband and I were knee-deep into renovating our two-story red brick home in Greenville. After painting every inch of the main floor, gutting the kitchen and updating bathroom fixtures, we started tackling the pièce de résistance: converting our attic into �� a master suite.

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SIMPLY U NIQU E

Somewhere along the home’s history the attic turned from a great place for storage to a playground for squirrels. But we had dreams of a marble shower, double vanity and a walk-in closet bigger than my college dorm room. There would be space for a king-size mattress; heck, there would be enough space for cartwheels. But to make room for all that fabulousness, we had to clean out the decades-old insulation to prepare for new layers of spray foam to be installed. Turns out we found more than just squirrel poop and dust in those attic rafters.

We found a stack of empty envelopes sent to various Greenville addresses from around the world including Greece, Peru and Japan. Postmarks dated some of the envelopes back to 1899. We also discovered about two dozen Greenville News vintage printing plates from the 1930s. I found out they were commonly used in the offset printing process, but were usually destroyed. They provided a fascinating look at the community many decades ago. There was an article about a Greenville man attending the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge, a write-up of a lady traveling to Honolulu and a

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story about the lack of parking in downtown Greenville. There were neat ads promoting used cars for $595 and ten cent bread. I’m a writer and my husband publishes books, and it seemed that our home’s former residents were storytellers, too.

I began researching the names penned on the brittle envelopes including that of George Giles. I learned George was an executive at Coca-Cola bottling, an avid golfer and a founding member of Second Presbyterian Church in downtown Greenville. Through a bit of luck and providence a Greenville native saw the envelopes and recognized his name. A few days later I had the phone number of George’s daughter, Dale Giles Earhardt.

I nervously called her home in Columbia, SC, and explained who I was. I was shocked to learn Dale grew up in our house in the

1950s and her grandfather Jack Giles built the home. “Which bedroom was yours?” I asked.

“My room was at the end of the hall to the right,” she told me.

“That’s where I’m sitting right now,” I exclaimed. “That’s my home office.”

Many of the features she remembered best— like the tiny black-and-white checkered bathroom floor, the built-in bookcase next to the fireplace, and the large cement basement—are still here 60 years later. Dale told me about selling lemonade and Cokes in front of the house to raise money for a bag of candy at the neighborhood convenience store. She talked about her birthday party in the backyard complete with a mini merrygo-round and a pony. She remembered sitting on the stairs at the side of the house picking dandelions. ��

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SIMPLY U NIQU E

there. The envelopes, however, made perfect sense. “My father collected stamps,” she said. “I have his stamp book.”

But somehow this stack of envelopes got left behind.

According to stamp appraiser Ric Ludwig these foreign stamps won’t be helping us pay for our new master suite, but he says it’s always a good idea to get an expert opinion.

“Find a local stamp dealer or appraiser who will look at it,” he says. “Once you know the value, eBay is a nice and clean way to sell stamps.” After decades of collecting, Ludwig has a lawyer’s bookcase full of stamps, a collection launched by a Graf Zeppelin stamp he found, you guessed it, in his grandmother’s attic.

And when it comes to the printing plates, Patsy appraised those at about $50 each. But talking to the woman who grew up in my home reminded me that treasures don’t necessarily have to be worth big bucks.

“I love history and I love antiques,” explained Dale.

“Maybe they came from a dime store—it’s probably not worth anything, but to me it’s worth “I’ve got fond memories of that house,” she said. “It wasn’t a big house, but it was all we needed.”

hundreds because it was owned by a relative.”

The old attic space is now gone, replaced by

Back then there was no air conditioning or locks on the doors. A housekeeper came daily to cook and iron. Groceries were delivered and so was the milk. We live in the same house, but in a very different world.

our fresh, open master suite. Even though we

Dale told me she was rarely allowed in the attic and didn’t know how the printing plates ended up

homeowner can have fun learning about the former

didn’t walk away with fistfuls of rusty gold, the biggest treasure turned out to be connecting with the past. And maybe before we move away I’ll stash something back in the rafters so a future residents of our home.



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Grow Happy With Us With acres of flowers, shrubs, perennials, and herbs, Martin Nursery has everything you need to create a garden masterpiece.

Excellent container choices and naturally grown vegetables make your garden wishes come true. And when inspiration strikes, our friendly and knowledgeable staff can help you find the best plants for your home.

MartinNursery.com 864-277-1818 | Mon.-Sat. Seasonal Hours 198 Martin Nursery Rd., Greenville Find us on 58 | at home

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ide a s in blo o m

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Spring A w A k e n s

CONTINUED � 62 62��

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ide a s in blo o m

writ ten by lynn greenl aw  photos by patriCK CoX

GENERALLY you will find the

last year. We are lucky to have them

two principals of McElreath – Bates Design tending to their antiques business at Antiques on Augusta in the Lewis Plaza in Greenville.

agree to design a beautiful spring

But in their spare time, they turn their creative talents to unique tablescapes and displays, as they did for the annual Antiques Show at the Greenville County Museum of Art in the fall of

would be equally at home on a dining

tableau for us.

Although the setting is of a bedroom scene, this exquisite floral display room sideboard, entry chest or table, or in an outdoor setting for a spring cocktail party. The possibilities are endless.

Step 1 Start with caged soaked oasis (chicken wire is preferred) in your urn or other desired container.

Curly Willow

Step 2 Add 3 pinwheel palm fronds (Licuala spinosa) and 3 curly willow (Salix matsudana) to build height and divide arrangement into three sections.

Step 3 Add Spirea (Japonica “Shirobana”) and Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota) as filler.

Step 4 Two blue flowers are added next, starting with the darker hued Dutch Iris followed by the lighter blue Delphinium. Finish with the intense yellow of Billy Button (Craspedia globosa) scattered through the arrangement.

Spirea

Queen Anne’s Lace

Delphinium

Billy Button

Palm leaf

Iris 62 | at home

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C

reativity is at the very heart of all interior design

by Sandy Hankins. Her custom lines of draperies, bedding, furniture, decorative painting/murals, and accessories replicate individuality and personality and lend refreshment to traditional approaches. Each project is a unique combination of style and mood, balanced with personal interests and priorities.

Sandy’s work reflects individuality and resourcefulness.

She blends inspiration and Practicality with comfort and beauty, transforming bare surroundings into works of art and sources of pride. Working with homeowners,

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business executives, contractors and as a consultant to other design teams, Sandy enhances existing home furnishings, directs new construction and restorations, while providing a tranquil and hasslefree living environment.

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H AV E Y O U D I S C O V E R E D ?

VIR STIL™ COLLECTION

BY LAURA KIRAR

The Carolinas’ FinesT ColleCTion oF FixTures, Fau auCeTs CeTs, DeCoraTive harDware, anD BaTh FurniTure. a Division oF Cregger Company, inC.

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Homecoming

L A BO R O F LOV E

Love brings wanderer back to her roots

Casey is the owner of Up To Eleven, an event planning business. Patrick is a 9th grade social studies teacher at Greenville High. He started and is head coach of the GHS rugby team.

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writ ten By Lynn Greenl aw photos by K IM GIBSON

Casey Ga ll agher h a d been gone from Greenville for 15 years. She’d worked in New York and Asia, and had been living in Colorado, producing live music events, when she returned to Greenville for a visit home during the Christmas holidays in 2008. Friends invited her to an oyster roast where she met Patrick Reid. That’s when the homecoming began.

A spark ignited and Casey and Patrick spent every day of the remainder of her visit together until she boarded the plane back to Colorado on January 2.

A series of events led to what Casey describes as “the move across the country, starting a local business and eventually the beginning of our family. The wedding was not only a celebration of us, but of that homecoming and reconnection with our family and dearest friends in the world.”

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Enjoy a visit to their charming celebration.

4/7/11 2:43:50 PM

Rustic, nature-inspired simplicity pro vided the theme for the GallagherReid wedding just across the So uth Carolina state line in Cedar Mo untain, NC.

123 College Street , Downtown Greenville 864.232.7385 JBLacher.com spring 2011 | 69

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CRAFTED

RIGHT: Having spent many happy hours at a family

home in the Cedar Mountain area, Casey chose Faith Chapel for the wedding ceremony.

BELOW: With an ulterior motive in mind, Patrick invited Casey to his family’s traditional Christmas caroling along Crescent Avenue for the first time on Christmas Eve 2009. When they returned to his grandparents’ house their entire families were on the front porch. Patrick proposed with all of Crescent Avenue watching.

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RIGHT: Attached to the wedding program were cards that read “Open Me After The Kiss.” Casey had secretly hired singers and a brass quintet to perform “All You Need Is Love” and “When I’m 64” as the newlyweds exited the chapel. All the words were printed on the card and everyone sang along. The card also included the message:

All You Need Is Love Dedicated to my husband and in remembrance of: 875 NE Main St., Simpsonville 864-228-1619 M-F 9-5; Sat 9-3

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Preston Reid Billy Trowbridge Betty Trowbridge Milton and Lois Gallagher

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by DESIGN

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All four of Patrick’s brothers, Jacob, Bennett, Hunter and Kelsey, stood as his groomsmen. They all happen to be Citadel graduates as well.

ABOVE: Casey and Patrick with the Reverend Jerry Hill. RIGHT: The

bridal gown was purchased from Coplon’s in Greenville.

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L A BO R O F LOV E

ABOVE: Friends since second grade, Caroline and Prentice, and her sister, Meredith, were Casey’s attendants.

LEFT: Trey Francis played acoustic guitar and sang at the ceremony and reception.

The groom with his mother, Susan Reid.

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RIGHT: Family friend, Karin Purvis of The Houseplant, provided the flowers at the entrance of the reception barn, the bridal bouquet and the bridesmaids’ bouquets. Casey’s mother and aunt, Kay Thomas and Patty Kornegay, arranged all of the flowers on the tables.

BELOW: Perfect

additions to the bird theme, very unique boutonnieres were found online at Etsy.com.

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L A BO R O F LOV E

Brooks and Carol Gallagher, Casey’s father and stepmother, accompanied her on many hikes to find the branches used in decorating the reception barn.

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The rustic setting of the Robin Hood Barn in Cedar Mountain was a perfect location for the GallagherReid wedding.

Casey creatively decorated an Italian cream cake and cupcakes with the recurring bird theme.

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No one says you look like the Mother of...

Have to

Fabulous “Mother Of’s” at Trousseau

Newly married Casey and Patrick danced to “Swept Away” to begin the fun at the reception.

2222 Augusta Street 864.271.9382 Mon.-Fri. 10-5, Sat. 10-3 www.trousseaugreenville.com spring 2011 | 77

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After the festivities, family friends Carl and Allison Muller provided an elegantly fun ride for the bride and groom. After their lovely wedding the couple honeymooned in Tulum, Mexico.May they have a long and happy life together!

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Stop dreaming, start saving.

Save up to $2,500 at the Dream Kitchen Event.

Purchase a combination of Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances now at The Cook’s Station.

Celebrate your investment for generations. Instant savings offer good through December 31, 2011.

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659 South Main St., Greenville, SC 864.250.0091 | www.TheCooksStation.com

Greenville’s Downtown Appliance Store

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Frank Ogletree and the staff at The Embassy have the experience and creative edge you need when planning a special event, adding a seasonal flair to your home, or sending a gift to a special friend or client. The Embassy Flowers has been serving Greenville businesses and residents since 1985.

We are a full-service florist and deliver in the Greenville area.

1922 Augusta Street @McDaniel Village Greenville, SC 864.282.8600 www.embassy-flowers.com 80 | at home

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t ren ds

taBLesCapes for any oCCasion

You’re Invited! writ ten By Lynn GreenL aw

photos By B patriCK CoX

A RE YOU A LWAYS in a quandary about how to set a fabulous table?

You’ll have numerous examples for inspiration if you visit the Spice of Life show on April 29 and 30 in the Carolina First Center in Greenville (for more information, visit www. upstatespiceoflifeshow. com). While there you’ll be able to help select the “audience favorite” from the entries in the Tablescapes Tabletop Design Competition.

As a preview, we are featuring three of the contest participants. Of course, what you’ll see here is only a bit of a “tease” of the total tabletop design that will be on view at the show. Come see the rest and fire up your creativity.

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A Child’s First Birthday

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Coordinated elements of Jennifer Tucker’s setting for a child’s first birthday are a custom printed menu card, individual name card, butterfly, flags and a table number card cleverly placed inside a four-windowed frame. All paper items are available through her company, White Tulip Designs. Linen provided by ABC Rentals.

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Uniquely Adorned A unique component appears as part of the table setting designed by Marc Schreckengost of The Galleries of Brian Brigham.

Vintage jewelry adds a distinctive touch of elegance as it is paired with pearl handled silver, gold-trimmed china and stemware, and creamy Asian porcelain figurines.

The turquoise and cranberry fabrics harmonize beautifully.

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Southern Tradition with a Twist

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Mickey Vest of Me and Me Designs creates a “Southern Traditional With a Twist” table setting using elements of blue in the china, glassware, napkins and flowers. He pairs it with the brilliant orange of the glass bowl, bamboo placemat, Imari plate and roses. Toss in a classic faux stone column and you have a “twist.”

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92 | at home GreerGas Spr11 AH.indd 1

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Making your house a home with beautiful art.

amanda bennett, Owner As an art consultant, Amanda helps clients choose and integrate art into commercial and residential spaces.

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GA R DEN TO TA bL E

KiTchen gardenS bring flaVOrS TO life

Piece of Paradise S TORY AND phOTOS pROVIDED bY JANE T TE WESLE Y

On a w indy, wOOly m a rch morning, i turn on the coffee and begin to make the fires. as our major source of heat radiates from woodstoves in the thousand-year-old house in Tuscany, Villa Sant’andrea, it is the first job to do upon waking if you want to stay warm. i carry the tray of ashes white from the night before to the garden and sprinkle it over the earth like an old friend near bare blueberries and shivering chives. Somewhat a spiritual ritual, but what i am thinking is free organic fertilizer! inside, the coffee warms my hands. i dip down the stairs of the chilly stone cellar and take from the shelf a glass jar of amber goo, anticipating the flavor of summer sun in these fig preserves made last September by my husband renato. mmmm! i remember Cortona, Italy

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the careful preparation: figs, freshly picked from our garden, cooked on the stove and perfectly balanced by just enough zest of lemons from our potted citrus plants, splashed by a good cup of cognac, simmered, then put away … and now, ready to spread on freshly baked bread with creamy butter, served with hot coffee by a dancing fire. Could a day begin in a better way? The flavor of the seasons wrapped up as a present, paradise in fig jelly given from the garden, preserved summer pleasure.

I consider myself fortunate. I have two homes, one in Cortona, Italy, and one here in Greenville. I say homes and not houses, because both are truly my home, with friends and love, true places of life.

At both, the kitchen and the garden are the heart and soul that keep the blood flowing. The fortune lies not only in stones and mortar but in the joy of living.

As an art student, I came to Italy many years ago and learned how to paint in Cortona. I fell in love with a landscape quilted with sunflowers and olive trees, backed by candlestick cypresses standing guard on the hillsides, and with calloused Italian hands and sun sculpted faces, a people who love their land. The smiles were like home to me, a place that

shared the same warm friendships I knew in South Carolina. We live in the two homes and especially in two gardens— artichokes and olive oil in Italy, collards and pecans in Greenville—part of the

year in one, and part in the other.

Sometimes life creates us and sometimes we get the chance to create our lives.

The garden is a chance to create life. It is a piece of paradise, a refuge in times

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sage, rosemary and thyme to tomatoes, beans and peppers; pear trees, fig trees, walnuts and pecans, a plot of red mud in an Upstate backyard with a little bit of organic material will grow them

When the roles are reversed, hoW do you

pleasantly and propitiously.

knoW What’s

To create new life in your Garden of Paradise you must prepare a plan that

best for

includes some basic prerequisites: a

your parents?

sunny location, access to water and a good foundation of healthy soil. You may have a skeleton from which to build your garden, or you may have nothing but matted Bermuda grass on compacted clay, or you may have only the concrete corner on the terrace of your condominium or apartment. It matters only that you set up your space so you can enjoy the chance to achieve your intention: not only to taste the marvelous diversity of flavors, using the beautiful aromas in the meals to fully enjoy the beauty of the kitchen garden as it is growing.

A foundation of good soil can be created

the earth bearing fruits to the mouth and to the soul. With a small piece of land, or even a few pots on a terrace, you can partake of this pleasure. From parsley,

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by purchasing organic dirt in a bag and pouring it into a clay pot or window box, or for a larger garden you can make your own over time in a composting bin with wood ashes, grass clippings and kitchen �� scraps such as coffee grounds,

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apple, potato and carrot peelings or anything organic that is not meat based and does not contain seeds.

the soil. Create beds or plots, pots or

Good soil is 50 percent soil, 25 percent air and 25 percent water, and allows the roots breathing room. Enabling air and water to flow well is essential and can be managed by creating pathways so as not to compact the planting area when walking or working in the spaces.

The soil in the Upstate is mostly clay, and although rich in minerals, lacks in organic loose material. Without good soil, you will be without good flavors in the food and your plants will be more likely to develop diseases.

of the kitchen garden because they allow

Start small so you can manage your

way to increase nitrogen is to plant beans

success. Locate your garden in the sun, close to the kitchen and close to the source

in the same plot in the summer (see

of water, on level ground if possible so as

It’s important to organize the space.

Measure out your plots so that your arm

pathway. Pathways are important for plots you to walk or take in a wheelbarrow in designated places or kneel down to pull weeds. Raised beds work well if your regular soil is hard like a brick; simply put down gravel, build some support beams with wood, and then pour in a deep reach of great soil, and you are ready to go.

Learn about companion planting so that the plants you choose benefit each other, eliminating insect problems or enriching the soil. For example, broccoli, a fall crop, needs lots of nitrogen, and one

www.ghorganics.com/page2.html).

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enduring appeal for your home

can reach in the middle of the planted area—three to four feet wide seems to work well for most people. Run the plantings north to south so that all the growth will get equal amounts of sun

during the day. Think about borders the way you think about frames for your pictures. A border gives structure and form, holding it all together visually.

Edge your plots in low-growing perennial herbs such as thyme or chives or edible ornamentals such as marigolds, which help to defend against insects. Include plants that attract beneficial insects like tiny wasps that eat aphids, and that prefer the tiny flowers of fennel, dill, coriander and mint. Encourage ladybugs and pollinators like bees and humming birds. And really, seriously, do not use any chemical sprays—you don’t want to eat pesticides or herbicides; no matter how “safe” the label says they are, they will go into the soil and into the water.

Mix ornamentals with edibles, like daisies, iris or sunflowers, as this allows you to bring color to the center of the dinner table. Use Nasturtiums like Monet along pathways, wildly splashing orange and lemon blooms and effervescent green leaves, all of which can also be eaten. Put the tallest growing plants in the center of the plots or pots, and the cascading ones on the edges, and always include a balance of herbs, vegetables, fruit and flowers.

Ask your garden shop for easy-to-grow �� plants for clay soils like tomatoes

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(the small cherry varieties freeze well and have great flavor) but don’t choose root vegetables like carrots or parsnips that are hard to grow in compact clay soils. Rather, choose leafy vegetables like collards and kale, peppers, strawberries or zucchini and beans, which benefit from the minerals in the clay. Be bold and exotic. Dapple splashes of super tall Rudbeckia maxima against a dark wall, or sow your own saffron from Crocus sativus, turkey craw beans or green striped-cushaws, a smoky southern winter squash. Plant trees like the Pawpaw or Shagbark Hickory.

Dogwoods (edible Cornus mas), and

Remember old friends like Plums and

the skyscraper, and put in place some

refer to the Farmer’s Almanac (almanac. com) like your grandparents used to do.

Get to know the plants you choose by reading books or quality information on the Internet. As the years pass, mix it all up, and plant different plants in different spaces at least every three years. This will help your soil retain the minerals it needs, and also keep you from being bored with the same things in the same place.

“Form follows function.” Think about Louis Sullivan, the creator of

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GA R DEN TO TA BL E

vertical elements. Espaliered fruit trees like pears or apples not only dish out design and save space, but when sculpted against a wall, reflect sunlight and retain heat that lengthens the growing season. Trellises of wood (metal becomes too hot in the sun for most plants) are integral parts of kitchen gardens and serve to hold precious fruits or climbing vegetables off the ground, save space in the garden, and give a vertical focus to the eye. Simple central tripods or trelliswork along a wall or a walk are easy to make even from cutting some saplings or branches from elsewhere in

the landscape and lift the spirits from the dark in the ground to the blue in the sky. Potted plants on stands properly placed lift color to eye level, and can be brought indoors later in the fall.

Consider peppers like the habanero for pots; perennial in enough warmth, they are excellent for cooking with fish, chicken or pork.

As the sun sets, Renato’s clanging of pots on the stove and the sizzle of our own olive oil in the pan, has caught my ear. I take off my molded gloves, and discard the muddy shoes at the back door. The aroma of garlic, a sliver of hot pepper and silvery sage began to anoint the

kitchen. It could be a day in Italy, with the sweet wild flavor of the Cinta Sinese pork from our neighbors the Polezzi family, or we could be in Greenville, habanero and herbs from my back door pots, garlic from my Slow Food friends, Red Fern Farms in Gray Court, and the delicately delicious Red Wattle pork from Jim and Eve Lyle at Brick House Farms in Gaffney. When I wake up from this beautiful dream, I will tell you in what part of paradise I am. ď‚– Janette Wesley, Chapter Leader, Slow Food Upstate, www.slowfoodupstate.com spring 2011 | 105

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Home Run Practical considerations, style Preferences drive condo design writ ten By LeiGH SAVAGe ◆ pHotoS By pAtriCK CoX

W hen Cr a ig BroW n purCh ased a Condominium at the Field house at W est end, he k neW th at just like a BaseBa ll ga me, it should Be a tea m eFFort. “i’m old enough to know how that should go,” laughs Brown, president and co-owner of the greenville drive. he left the majority of aesthetic decisions to his wife of 36 years, Vicki, and interior designer amy Broker. “my wife knows what works for me and what i like, so i just stayed out of the way.”

he had just a few items that he considered musts at the condo. First, he wanted a view overlooking one of his favorite places: Fluor Field. Beyond that, all he requested was his audiovisual equipment (“i like gadgets and i love watching sports,” he says), great lighting and, of course, his favorite recliner. 

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The corner unit at the Field House offers expansive views of downtown Greenville, stretching to Falls Park and beyond. Brown enjoys relaxing on the terrace when weather permits. One big draw for the condo – the master suite and terrace overlook one of Brown’s favorite places, Fluor Field.

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TOP AND LEFT: Baseball-themed art by local artist Ric Standridge creates a focal point in the living room. above: Interior designer Amy Broker worked with Vicki Brown to create a look that blends neutral colors with contemporary and traditional styles. LEFT: A Julian Chichester console adds interest in the hall. Broker had the gray cement floor stained and scored to resemble tiles.

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“I tried to get rid of the recliner,” Broker says, since from a designer’s perspective, it was too large for the space. But on this one point, Brown held firm. “She tried, but she wasn’t successful,” he says. “It’s one of the first things my wife and I bought, and it’s nice for watching television

and doing e-mails.”

Brown purchased a corner unit because it offers city views from the dining area plus field views from a balcony and the master suite. “I like being able to look out the window and see the field, the green grass,” he

says. “That’s what makes it special.

That’s one of the premier playing surfaces in the country, so it’s nice to look down on that.”

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Bamboo shades, a soft rug and custom lighting warm up the open living/dining area, which also features a few of Brown’s key requests: his favorite recliner, surround sound and a 60-inch flat screen perfect for watching sports.

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The kitchen showcases the downtown vista with a sleek table and chairs.

Also on display is Brown’s Whirlybird popper, which the popcorn aficionado uses almost daily to whip up gourmet snacks.

First, she created a closet in Brown’s office to house stacks of audiovisual equipment. She also removed much of the sheetrock in the unit and installed Acoustiblok and thicker sheetrock to reduce sound. She changed out all of the lighting and the flooring, which was previously gray cement. Palmetto Concrete Solutions stained and scored the floor to resemble tiles.

Brown’s practical needs with Vicki’s transitional contemporary style, which she defines as an understated look mixing traditional carved wood with lighter frames, lower-profile design and minimal ornamentation. Vicki would often send pages from magazines showcasing what the couple liked, and Broker would find similar pieces. “That was easiest since she wasn’t here with me,” Broker says.

Broker says her goal was to incorporate Craig

The main living area is home to a 60-inch

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The office is where Brown displays favorite photos and baseball memorabilia.

Broker added a closet in the room to house audiovisual equipment.

flat-screen, Brown’s favorite recliner, and a vivid baseball-themed painting by local artist Ric Standridge. A faux finish by Pam McShea creates a warm look on the columns and above the cabinets in the kitchen, offsetting the more industrial feel of the condo. Surround sound— another priority for Brown—is built into the living room and master suite, with speakers installed flush with the wall and painted to blend seamlessly with the wall color.

The kitchen—where Brown often whips up gourmet popcorn in an old-fashioned popper from Mast General Store— features a sleek table and chairs by Julian Chichester along with custom-made pendant lights. Karin Purvis of The

Houseplant created several container plants, including a cactus, to bring nature to the space without requiring much upkeep.

Behind the wall housing the television is the master suite, where Broker paired a king-size Hickory Chair bed with a sunburst mirror and artwork to create a look that is “simple, natural and clean.”

In the bath, she redid the shower right down to installing a quieter fan. Natural shades, ceramic tiles, Japanese banana weave wallpaper and Calcutta Gold marble create a serene ambiance.

After working with many area companies and individuals, Broker considers herself not just a designer but also a project manager for the condo. “I was fortunate to have 

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wonderful people to work with,” she says.

The result of that team effort is a residence that incorporates the couple’s practical considerations and style preferences with winning results. The Browns, who have three grown children, enjoy the condo and its downtown location, often walking to shops and restaurants nearby.

“It’s impossible not to fall in love with Greenville when you come and see it,” he says. “But as

beautiful as it is, the people are even better than the town itself.”

The Browns have lived in many places while he built a varied career in accounting, advertising and consulting. But he’s happy his most recent venture has brought him to Greenville, and that the community has embraced Fluor Field and the Drive. “It’s been the place I’ve really found home,” he says. 

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The sunny master suite is dominated by a sunburst mirror, king-size bed and nature-themed art. The hall bath was reworked from top to bottom with ceramic tiles, Calcutta Gold marble and seagrass wallpaper to add natural texture.

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W INE A N D D ININ G

the Art of

LIQUEUR

S TO R Y A N D P H OTO S P R O V I D E D B Y R E N ATO V I C A R I O

A seA rch for the most incredible ingredients like w ild mint or fresh orgA nic fA r m ber r ies

begins in the spring and continues year round, watching the local stores for bitter oranges or crillio cocoa, and shopping the internet for spices like frankincense and myrrh. whether we are at our home in cortona, italy, or in south carolina (we spend part of the year in each of these two places), this desire for the highest quality components creates a refreshing aperitif after work, a soothing after-dinner digestive or glorious ends to delicious dinner parties, from many of my home-made liqueurs. when fall arrives, we look for the best bushes of pruno-spino (wild plums-Prunus spinosa), that were the origins of the distilled sloe gin, biancospino (common hawthorn-crataegus �� spring 2011 | 127

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monogyna), a plant widely growing wild that has many medicinal qualities, and strawberry tree fruit or cane appleArbutus unedo, an evergreen bush native to the Mediterranean area well known since classical antiquity and popular in Elizabethan gardens of the 16th century.

Hieronymus Bosch immortalized it in “The Garden of Earthly Delights,” a painting found in the Prado museum of Madrid, Spain, and even Thomas Jefferson listed it as existing at the garden of Monticello in 1778.

The creation of a liqueur, after all, involves a thorough search for the most flavorful substances, along with a passion for the study of history, learning from those who have experimented before us. This art of liqueur making testifies to the uniqueness of men to be different, explore, survive and leave their own mark on the world. Not too much can be found written on the subject, however; perhaps it is the use of alcohol

that has penalized the propagation of this knowledge in some cultures of our world. We even seem to forget that, in the Bible, Noah is shown producing and enjoying wine preparations and we can also find references to the use of herbs in alcoholic beverages in the Book of Isaiah. Many cultures have traditions of liqueurs, which remain very regional, especially in Italy. They were medicinal drinks originally, and these traditions are worth remembering and preserving.

This realization, along with a personal love for history and art, led to my book “Liquori Salutari” (published in English and Italian by the Aboca Museum). It manifests the thaumaturgical properties of these drinks and not only demystifies the components of the medicinal herbs used in liqueur making but also aims more specifically to create a particular aroma or “bouquet” to please the palate.

The preparation of liqueurs at home is essentially quite simple and whoever

would like to try these pleasures does not need to become an herbalist. In many European households, if you cook, you probably also have a liqueur specialty to serve to your friends at the end of a meal, and many people carry on the traditions learned from their grandmothers.

Your homemade liqueur will have a fullness of taste very rarely found in a commercial product. It also will be better for you, from a health point of view, with fewer calories, fewer simple sugars and more medicinal properties.

The first uses of liqueurs were probably an attempt to purify tainted drinking water with herb extracts—we know Hippocrates drank an anise-flavored beverage called “anisum,” and ancient Greeks used caraway and cumin in their beverages. With time, these early concoctions grew in number, reflecting the desire of man besides curing himself of his ills to also pleasure his tastes.

The development of the recipes

��

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Renato making some of his favorite liqueurs at home.

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shows the widening of his knowledge in the hidden properties specific to each plant, fruit and berry native to his environment, which he could easily forage and later use as an addition to food or medicine. This learning defined each ethnic group and its food cultures and, through the millennia, our different cuisines developed to reflect this unique environmental insight centered on the use of the local herbs, fruits and spices, each dish enhanced by their peculiar aromas. The same learning held true in liqueur’s preparation; besides, here man found a means to alleviate his aches, together with his sorrows.

In mediaeval times, the religious convents were the only locations where herbs were carefully prepared into elixirs of long life; actually, it was only in the monasteries that any shred of civilization and knowledge survived. It was the religious orders that preserved the knowledge passed on from ancient times and painstakingly copied and

re-copied the books that had survived the ravaging barbarians. The monks took on the role of saviors of the body as well as of the soul, and became alchemists. But while alchemists were interested in transmuting base metal into gold, monks were interested in finding the elixir of eternal life which, it was thought, the Good Lord had hidden on earth; for that purpose, in their gardens they grew all manner of herbs, spices and weeds, reputed from ancient times to have medicinal properties.

Between the 14th and 17th centuries, many convents throughout Europe developed liqueur recipes that are still prepared today, such as the Elixir di lunga vita (Chartreuse) prepared by the Benedictine monk Dom Bernardino Vincelli in 1510.

Although during these times Popes still excommunicated alchemists, monks continued to perfect the technology of the production of elixirs using available herbs, fruits and spices. It is through them, and

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their relentless quest, that chemistry as we know it today was born, along with the liquor industry. But it was only with the great geographic discoveries of the Age of Navigation that the number of liqueurs increased dramatically.

C elebrate your suCCess !

Explorers reached India, Indonesia, America and the West Indies, and soon a flood of new herbs and spices were available for our European monks, all at a very reasonable price. By the end of the 16th century, due to better scientific knowledge in the art of distilling, the product could also be further processed by multiple distillations, producing mellower and more delicate results. Although only monks, chemists and wine-makers had, by the original mediaeval law, the right to distill, it was in Holland where laws controlling distillation started to be modified and the idea of commercial liqueur was first realized.

Here, Bols opened the first commercial distillery in 1575.

The Dutch colonies in the Antilles grew bitter oranges; this popular fruit was difficult to transport and, many times, to prevent spoilage during the crossing, oranges were steeped in spirits (using the rough distillate from sugar cane, the first rum). On arrival in Holland, someone had the great idea to distill the vile mass, add cane sugar (another new import) to soften the too-bitter base and sharpen the flavor; thus, the soon�� to-be-famous Curaçao Orange Liqueur was invented.

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Left to right, liqueurs in the making – Citrus, Prickly Pear Cactus, and Grapes under spirits (white and red).

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Although liqueurs were entering the mainstream as a delicious drink, their medicinal roots were still much in evidence in the 18th century, as shown by documents where we see that, as late as 1750, a Dr. Cornelius Bontekoe prescribed a liqueur for use against scurvy.

Looking not only at the history of liqueur preparation but also at the history of spices as they were, from the very beginning of times, used in medicine, religious rituals, cosmetics and perfumery or for the purpose of flavoring and preserving fascinates the imagination. As civilization progressed, at least another hundred different uses were added, contributing to

A filtration process using common kitchen tools and coffee filters for a Rosemary Liqueur.

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the high demand of spices throughout history.

Although the preparation of liqueurs originated to help the “sanity of humans” in the physical, medicinal and mentally therapeutical sense, discovering liqueurs is a cultural journey through the ages, and a way to open a window into the culture of those eras.

When I look at liqueurs I do not see an alcoholic drink, I see instead a “still life painting” in a drink with such a unique taste that one can be taken back in time, sometimes a thousand years before we were born. •

Homemade Strawberry Liqueur 350 ml or 12 oz. of alcohol, 190 proof 100 ml or 1/2 cup of water 3/4 pound or 350 grams sugar (can be cut to half this amount according to taste) 3/4 pound or 350 grams fresh ripe strawberries the peel (yellow only) of 1/2 lemon ginger root cut to the size of a clove of garlic 1/2 stick of vanilla, sliced lengthwise (to expose the inside of the bean)

Wash the strawberries carefully and eliminate any green parts along with any possible blemish. Allow to dry completely. Put the strawberries in an airtight jar. Place the water, sugar and lemon peel in a pan and heat on low temperature, dissolving the sugar and allowing the water to take on the color of the lemon.

Set aside and cool completely. At room temperature add the sugar water to the alcohol and mix well. Pour the mixture over the strawberries in the jar. Add the vanilla and the ginger root and close securely. Leave in a cool dry place for a minimum of one month (up to six months) swirling and mixing the liquid

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at least one time every day. After one month or more, filter the mixture with a paper coffee filter; then, bottle and close the liqueur for a minimum of two months before serving.

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At Self Regional, we’re working hard to provide quality healthcare, and our efforts recently have been recognized with the state’s highest award for quality. We’ve also achieved state and national recognition in HealthGrades’ latest ratings, including the state’s top-ranked vascular and overall orthopedics services and a neurosurgery program ranked in the top 5% in the country.* We are very proud of the recognition we’ve received, but nothing is more important to us than the quality of care we give our patients every day. It’s healthcare the way it should be … only at Self.

We bring advanced care closer.™

1325 Spring Street, Greenwood, SC • 864-725-4111 • onlyatself.org is the leading independent healthcare ratings organization for hospitals in the U.S. *2011 ratings.

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